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After seeing all the rest of the Oonagh builders projects and their workshops, I envy, first how tidy their shops are, but mostly the ability to source gear so easily over there. I guess being so large and with huge competition among manufacturers it creates a healthy market, but here in NZ we really have to scratch around to find gear.
I intend using Fionn McCool with my launch and staying on moorings for several days at a time, it is imperative I have good fendering. I am envious at the U.S. product Gunnel Guard but nothing like this is available except a really hard plastic version and not at all suitable for a classy craft such as an Oonagh!
I considered buying from several of the large online warehouses but prices varying from US$450 -$650 plus freight plus our GST of 15% means about NZ$1000 before I can fit it! That’s more than the craft itself has cost so I went back to the drawing board.
I fitted some marine carpet in Fionn to sit on when sailing and it is really quite soft so began to think… could it do for a fender? In the old days, seamen would fasten a length of rope around the belting to provide protection when alongside. I thought, could I fit a rope inside a roll of the carpet? I experimented but the ropes, both laid and braid were quite heavy and stiff when about 1 inch in dia. So thought again for a few days.
In commercial factory construction they stand up concrete slabs for the walls. Where they join there is often gaps from ½” up to 2” and these need to be filled. The builders use a Polyethylene rope of the required diameter. I purchased some of the 1 inch dia and took a sample of the carpet and rope to a saddler to see if he could stitch it into a usable form.
Once he understood my request and proposed use, he stitched me up a length to offer into place for inspection. I have tried it and I feel it will work perfectly so have purchased 30ft of the polyethylene backing rod ($28.00) and the carpet 6ft x 3ft ( $29.00) and now await his sewing job to be done.
The carpet is UV marine grade, I have asked him to use Dyema grade stitching and I trust the poly rod will be sufficiently encapsulated to be somewhat UV protected.
The rod is quite tough in that it bounces back to the original round shape when crushed so I hope it handles the fendering task between launch & Oonagh!
Unfortunately, Like Henry Ford colour schemes, the mid grey is the only option available in the carpet over here.
We shall see if it works I guess. Mother used to tell me ’Impoverishment is the mother of improvisation’
But I feel it isn’t a huge amount to pay for the experiment and if it lasts 2 – 3 years then I will replace it with same. Will post photog’s of it fitted once I get the material back from the saddler in a week or so.
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Hi All, thanks for the supportive comments Doug, and yes I have just got the product back from the saddlers and I think it looks fine, except for the colour. It is a little fiddly to fasten to the gunnel as I don’t have enough hands!
However it has attached firmly and I think it has perfectly enough cushioning to work well as a fender against another hull. As I didn’t have enough screw and cup washers, I fitted a 3/4 inch copper flat head nail in between the screw and it doesn’t stand out as too much fixings. The screws I placed at 6 in Centres so it’s fastened every 3 in. After wacking my fingers a few times, the light bulb went off and I used a pair of pointed nose pliers to grip the nail as I drove it with the hammer.
As the carpet was only 6 ft wide I had the saddler make it in short lengths with the joins placed under the leathers at the oarlocks and mid bow transom. It made it very manageable in short lengths.
I think the leather protection under the oarlocks is a splendid idea serving a double purpose in my case.
The fender folded around the bow & stern quarters really nice and I took it up almost to the engine well drop at the stern transom. The leathers here caused me some angst thinking how to fit them until I slept on it. I cut an obround, then a paper circle to place on top of the leather, then I sprayed contact glue on the exposed outer rim of the leather. I then folded the leather over like a pastry clamping the two halves together until set, then cut the half circle into two halves.
This left a nice handy little pocket into which I could slip the fender rod and carpet into. It saved a lot of fiddling trying to fold over the top flap of leather while trying to fasten it in place at the same time. Rather than have a blunt end to the fender I tapered it a little before sliding the leather pocket over the end of the fender. Once sure of the position I used a spring clamp to secure it while fastening it in place with some flat head copper nails.
All in all I am delighted with the end product considering nothing like this is available here in New Zealand. Cost wise It was NZ$28 for the poly rod, $29 for the carpet, $75 to be stitched up with Dyeema stitching and $35 for the leather… total of NZ$167.00 probably equivilent to about US$4.25!!
I have named my Oonagh, Fionn McCool, after the Irish Giant that Oonagh married.
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